Monday, 29 December 2008

A 3"x2.5" piece of cardstock is supposed to be my standard bearer when introducing people in realspace to my online identity and artwork.

Earlier this month, I began tweaking this important piece of identification. I hope I may ask for some opinions? Things that look great on the computer screen may not look as nice on paper. My favourite has more drawbacks than the others.

a. Classic look.b. X-ray look. c. Pop look. Which is most "me"? Or do I say who cares, which one stands out the most?

- - -I've wanted to paint an Encrinurus trilobite for a while now: ever since reading in a Dorling Kindersley book that they are sometimes referred to as "the strawberry-headed trilobite". I've done a detailed drawing so in the spring I can produce a variant of this image with a strawberry theme. I think this one will make 2010's calendar.

Monday, 15 December 2008

Painting is still a learning process, or as I refer to it, a struggle. It's rare that I produce a piece I am 100% okay with. Going back and forth on the amount of realism I want to inject into my work is a part of the struggle. The small oil sketch above is a light in the tunnel for me, or perhaps a point-change mutation with beneficial traits being expressed, if you prefer.

This piece, Callimorphia dominula, was created for a colleague as a Secret Santa gift. (The recipient is extremely talented, and though I don't often refer to folks at my day-job, keeping the two worlds separate, you can see Ash's paintings here.) Since her name is Ash, I painted leaves from an ash tree (Fraxinus excelsior), and a Scarlet Tiger Moth - - or is it one of the faerie-like Meliae?

The mutation for me was in the attempt to create a thickly-painted -one might say slathered- background, and a realistic foreground.

The background here on the left is obscured, partly because I put the still-very-wet painting onto my scanner, and it left shadows of the sticky paint when it scanned. What you're missing there is largely off-white, with a hint of blue-green.

In the coming months, I hope to get a number of paintings developed, and this little sketch feels like I've uncovered a small but vital technique that breaks a block I've had for a while.

Monday, 8 December 2008

Some museum sketching pics from November, taken at the Royal Ontario Museum.My nephew and I sketching a Corythosaurus skull he found interesting. He's part of the Explorer's Club there, and received a nice treasure for all the visits this year. - -Comparing my Gryposaurus incurvimanus drawing to the original. I like the interesting reflections of the new Crystal architecture on the glass in this shot.- -The Gryposaurus skull drawing is also featured as one of the dozen months of 2009 in my 1st-ever calendar, on sale for about 23 bucks. And there's still time to get it for the New Year.- - All original artwork on The Flying Trilobite Copyright to Glendon Mellow. The contents of this blog are under a Creative Commons Licence. See sidebar for details. Please visit my blog, gallery and reproduction store.

Darwin Took Steps shirts are available in a wide range of colours, as well as four styles of shirt. Just click the t-shirt button and take a look at the choices.Sweat-shop free, and starting at $23.94 U.S.! RedBubble accepts Australian, U.K., American and Canadian currencies too. This year I have also put together a calender, a first for me. If you're a fan of my artwork, or surreal scientific illustration, this is the best way to pick up a dozen prints of my work in one place. Here's a some shots of the calender, $22.99 U.S.:Hmm. I'm kind of digging that white background. Maybe a re-design in the New Year? You can also visit the RedBubble-hosted store and click through to see every month.

Order soon to guarantee it in for Christmas and New Year's!

I've also added cards, prints and canvas-reproductions of my popular Haldane's Precambrian Puzzle in each configuration!With such a dizzying array of holidays coming up, give the gift of Flying Trilobite.

Monday, 1 December 2008

I love the looming new Crystal, crashing into the old building. The pachycephalosaur intimidates me and enthralls me, lit from below with a purple light.

I love to go there and draw prehistoric skulls, and interact with extinct creatures that never imagined me - and wonder what in the future I am not imagining.

Gordo is wickedcool. You can't take in his whole skeleton in a glance in the space. I love that children and adults can see him from the street.

I'm disappointed no one got my oreodont joke last year: "an early mammal, the oreodont, and it looks like some predator only licked out the soft middle and left the cookie parts intact".The museum brings out the child in me.